The CBI on Friday filed a chargesheet against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in a multi-crore land scam at Manesar. In the chargesheet filed at a Panchkula court the agency has named 24 accused persons including, senior bureaucrats Chhattar Singh, S.S. Dhillon and M.L. Tayal and the promoter of the Gurgaon-based real estate company ABW Builders, Atul Bansal.
All three officers were powerful Principal Secretaries to the Chief Minister. The CBI officials from Delhi brought documents related to the land scam in two almirahs.
Investigation has revealed that after the notification under section 4 of Land Acquisition AAct, private builders and other persons had purchased around 459 acre of land from the villagers under the threat and apprehension of acquisition by the Government. It was alleged that they had then applied for grant of licences, for development of Group Housing Colonies and other projects, to the Department of Town & Country Planning, Haryana.
It was alleged that Haryana Government had issued notification U/s 4 on August 27, 2004 and under section 6 on August 25, 2005 of Land Acquisition Act for acquisition of land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township in the Villages at Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula in District Gurgaon.
It was further alleged that after the notification u/s 4 of Land Acquisition Act, (LAA) the private builders in conspiracy with certain public servants of Haryana Government including important functionaries and others had purchased around 400 acres land from the farmers and land owners of village Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula in Gurgaon district at throwaway prices, under the threat and false apprehension of acquisition by the government, during the period August, 2004 to August, 2007.
“As a result of the said criminal conspiracy, large number of land owners, in haste, had sold about 350 acres of land at throw away rates of Rs 20/25 lakh (approx) per acre. It was also alleged that when some land was not sold by the farmers, the Government issued notification u/s 9 of LAA and, thereafter, the private builders had purchased another 50 acres (approx) land at the rate of even Rs 1.50 crore (approx) per acre.
It was further alleged that the said properties had been grabbed from the land owners by land mafia under the threat of acquisition at meager rates, an order was passed on 24.08.2007 releasing this land from the acquisition process. Further, this land was released in violation of the Government policy, in favour of the builders, their companies and agents, instead of the original land owners.
Land measuring more than 400 acre, whose market value at that time was above Rs 4 crore (approx) per acre, totaling about Rs 1600 crore (approx) was thus allegedly purchased by the said conspirators from the innocent land owners for only about Rs 100 crore (approx). This caused an alleged loss of more than Rs 1500 crore to the land owners of Village Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula of District Gurgaon.